Reading a really fun book, A MAN NAMED DOLL (Ames). I am sure you would all like it too. Also reading the Philip Roth bio and watched a doc about him on TV. He was probably the writer I read most in my life so even the his biographer is a horrible person, I will read it. Roth was probably a bit of a jerk too, but his work was not. Also reading HOW TO WATCH A MOVIE, David Thomson.
Watching the twenty seasons of SILENT WITNESS, which is good although too many of the cases concern accidents (murders) with multiple victims and it is hard to keep track of them all. It is a well-done show though (Prime). Also watching MARE OF EASTTOWN and ATLANTIC CROSSING. I seem to watch more documentaries than anything else right now.
Rewatched RACHEL GETTING MARRIED after a podcast discussed it. I do listen to a lot of audiobooks from my library and podcasts. When you live alone, I think, you need to have something on: tv, radio or audiobooks.
16 comments:
Finished reading Murder and the Movies by the same David Thomson. If you ever get a chance read his novel Suspects. I have a copy you could borrow if you want. Also read Every Vow You Break by Peter Swanson. Am now reading The Dragon Waiting by John M. Ford. 100 pages in. Quite well written. Also rereading some Hemingway short fiction. Really impressed with The Short Happy Live of Francis Macomber.
Watching Mare of Easttown on HBO. Watched News of the World. The Tom Hanks movie. Very good.
You can tell I have a boring life when the most exciting thing I've done is get a air fryer.
I think our weatherman is on crack or something. The other day we supposed to get four to six inches of torrential rain and ended up with clear blue skies and when they say clear we get rain. Yesterday was a cool, breezy beach day but in the evening a storm came lutnof nowhere. Florida is weird.
To celebrate his 21st birthday, Mark ran a 10K. Even though he was not happy with his time, he placed third in his age group. Jessie, Amy, and Nugget -- Amy's cowardly 70-pound puppy -- were along to cheer his on with homemade signs. Three of Mark's friends from UWF also showed up to support Mark; they brought along some super-fancy homemade signs. Christina saw those an decided to up her sign game next time (she can be competitive), muttering to Mark's friends, "Bring it on!" Meanwhile Nugget found solace next to a non-threatening white Kia -- until the car alarm went off; there's a photo of her in Amy's arms looking like Scooby Doo with Shaggy after something scary happened.
Erin finished her sophomore year (not) at UFC. By the time she graduated high school she had enough college credits to skip her freshman year. All of her classes this year were online, so it didn't make financial sense for her to live on campus in Tallahassee. Next year (we hope) will be different. Jessie also finished her online classes, giving her an AA in Bookkeeping; she handles payroll for Escambia County. She'll now start on her online BA at UWF. Walt got a new job pending a security clearance review. Since he has top clearance from Homeland Security and the DOD, there's nothing of concern there. He will be telecommuting entirely from home. Working and studying online seems to be a trend in the family.
Binged on a few more shows: LUPIN, HELSTROM and SYNCHRONIC -- all pretty watchable. THINGS SEEN AND HEARD (Netflix original movie) started off interesting but soon descending into a mixed jumble of cliches and poor plotting. Still watching weekly episodes of DEBRIS. Most of what we watch is instantly forgettable -- something I put down to as pandemic brain; the day after we watch it we can remember the title or what it was about.
Spent the week reading doorstop horror anthologies, being careful not to drop any of them because they my break my toes. I also read a few since fiction and mystery tle to bereak up the routine. Next up (probably): I have about half a dozen supense, horror, and mystery Christmas-themes anthologies. I know it's not the right season to read them, but I'm a rebel.
Poor Matt Gaetz! He's been pushed to third place in the news. behind Covid in India and Josh Dugger. Nevertheless, I'm sure our local waste of protoplasm will rise once again to the top as more stupidities and potentially illegal activities are revealed. In that quest, it seems that he has now partnered with Marjorie Taylor Green. Yeck!
Today is National Lumpy Rug Day and National Chocolate Custard Day, Patti. Which will you be celebrating? Whichever you choose, I hope your week will be filled with sunshine, rainbows, and perhaps with a unicorn or two. Take care.
Thanks for the book recommendation, Patti. It does sound like a fun read. I've watched a little of Silent Witness, too. I have to admit, for some reason I'm not as drawn in as others have been. No accounting for personal taste... Still, it is a well-acted show with solid plots.
We saw some SILENT WITNESS shows years ago, but I intensely disliked Amanda Burton so we quit watching it. Life's too short, you know? We did recently see her again all these years later in the latest series of MARCELLA (set in Northern Ireland, where Burton is from) and she was a very unpleasant character again. Some actors (can you say Shia LaBeouf?) just rub you the wrong way, and she is on my list.
Finally finished SHTISEL and the end was mostly satisfactory. They did pretty much wrap things up, though there might be another series (or even two) if we're lucky, and we would definitely watch it. Slowly winding down THE GOOD PLACE too. Foreign language watches of the week include SEASIDE HOTEL (series two; Denmark), some of HANNA, NO SECOND CHANCE (Harlan Coben; moved to France and with the doctor changed to a woman), MURDER BY THE LAKE (Germany/Austria), INSPECTOR MANARA (Italy). Jackie insists on alternating these with English language shows. MARE OF EASTTOWN much better since the first episode. Still watching ATLANTIC CROSSING. Boy, according to this, Missy LeHand was quite a jealous bitch, wasn't she? And Eleanor Roosevelt comes across as less than sympathetic.
We have our Saturday night popcorn and Britbox ritual. Currently watching DEATH IN PARADISE (new episodes have mostly been weak even by their standards, and I do not like the new Inspector - Ralf Little - compared with Kris Marshall or Ardal O'Hanlon. Acorn (I think) has the first two episodes (of 6) so far of series 22 of MIDSOMER MURDERS, and we watched the first, which was poor. No outre fun murders as in past series. Then it was the final episode of series 1 of KAVANAGH, Q.C., which Jackie likes way more than Morse and I've been enjoying more than I expected to. And we wrapped it up with the last episode of series 2 of the original UPSTAIRS, DOWNSTAIRS, with the death of Edward VII in 1910.
Still reading a lot of short stories. If I continue at the current rate I will shatter 2017's total of 840, as I read another 70 in April and I've well past 300 for the year. The short ones I'm reading by Robert Walser do push up the totals.
Diane hosted her Book Club last week. All six members had their Covid-19 shots. Diane provided beverages and desserts: key lime pie, peanut butter torte, chocolate cake, and lemon bars. The Book Club chose a book for next month, THE GOOD SISTER, and plan to meet at the end of May.
Patrick and Katie are coming home for Mother's Day. We last saw them in-person at Thanksgiving. Diane is preparing their bedrooms for their stay.
Plenty of rain here. Stay safe!
Yum! Those desserts sound great, George. Forget the books!
There was an article in the Times yesterday about what changes made since the pandemic you are going to keep once it is over (assuming it ever is). I just don't know when I will feel comfortable seeing a play or a concert indoors in a full theater. If they want to reopen, I really think that at least at first, they are going to have to demand proof of vaccination.
For years, we pretty much ate out our main meal (usually lunch in recent years) every day, unless there was a reason - illness, snow, other bad weather, etc. This has changed that (and probably for the better). We do get takeout food and we have started eating out (outside) in a few places, but mostly we eat home. Jackie has a notebook where she keeps track of what she eats (for Weight Watchers purpose), which enables her to see where we've eaten and when. She makes a list two weeks at a time of what we're going to eat based on that. For instance, since we had a hamburger last week (actually, shared one and a grilled chicken sandwich) we are not likely to have meatballs and spaghetti this week. It's mostly chicken and fish anyway. It seems to work. Of course, next winter in Florida we will probably stick to restaurants, though we plan on more outdoor dining there too.
Well, I am half-heartedly doing WW (the new name) until after my trip. They give you an app which you can use to determine the points via the barcode on any product. There is a long list of no point foods you can eat as much as you want (mostly fruits, veggies, chicken fish and brown rice and pasta) and I get 16 pts from other food on my purple plan. There are two other plans for more points but less zero point foods. If you google purple zero list, you can see it. (Or blue or green). The people I know who are successful are fanatical about it and I am not sure I have that in me. I have been successful with WW when I went to meetings. And when I had someone in the house to encourage me.
It is unbearable to be with some of these people who do nothing about talk about their points and what they can eat so I am not even mentioning it on my trip or again here.
I have eaten inside at restaurants a few times now (since I was vaccinated) and felt pretty safe. Supposedly we are safe, right? Fyling next week has me anxious but more about Delta canceling the flight then catching Covid.
Watched a three hour Frontline special on Covid around the world that was fascinating, if sad. We also watched GREEN FOR DANGER, a movie I like a good deal. We both enjoyed it. I like the movie better than the book.
Weather in Sixties, no rain in sight, we're in drought mode with the driest April on record (#2 was in 1956). We need your rain!
I'm reading Fowler and Allingham.
Green for Danger is the one in a hospital, right. Scary.
My book group is still zooming. The problem is one member who lives 5 hours away has come back since we zoom. Would have to figure out how she could still be part of it. I guess we could put an Ipad on a chair and face time her.
Jackie is doing an older Weight Watchers (before the WW days) - from 2009. She will give you the details below.
Stop torturing yourself with the new, young WW. I've been following all the plans off and on for 56 years. No more yoyoing for me. The 2009 version is very easy. I'll send you the old fashioned chart that you can easily do by hand to count points and we'll scan any pages that you need. It was designed to emphasize fiber which has cured my stomach problems completely. You can eat anything and you can email me or call anytime you want if you need a buddy. Trust me, this one is easy. I have lost 40 pounds since my knee surgery and have no problem keeping it off. I will admit to maintaining during the pandemic due to an over abundance of bakery desserts. The weight will come down slowly ( 1 or 2 pounds per week) but it is not a problem keeping it up as long as you write down everything you eat every day and try to walk at least 4000 steps helps too. Lucky you can do that in your garden anytime.
Good Luck, Jackie
Well, this is pretty easy too. You just put what you eat right on the phone. But I hate counting points. I have to just bear down. Which I will try to do when I return from my trip. It's all in the attitude and mine sucks. Although I rarely eat junk food or sweets, I still don't lose weight. I eat fiber all day long, probably too much.
Hopefully it will change in three weeks.
If not, you may get a call!
I have lots of gardening to do, even with the very small space I have to garden in. Lots of weeds to get rid of. Some very prolific thyme to cut back. And trying to figure out where I can successfully plant things in my north east facing back area that only get a few spots with full sun. I mostly use containers and that means I don't have to do a lot of digging, but still a lot of work.
I am currently reading THE MIRROR & THE LIGHT by Hilary Mantel. Very long and a slow read for me. I finished THE PURSUIT OF LOVE by Nancy Mitford most recently. Jeff provided me with some information about the Mitfords over at Lesa's blog. I want to read a biography of the Mitford sisters sometime this year.
Before that I finished THE MEANING OF NIGHT by Michael Cox, SUNSET OVER SOHO by Gladys Mitchell, and EX LIBRIS by Anne Fadiman. All books I had been reading for a while. I did not like THE MEANING OF NIGHT very much, but otherwise all my reading has been enjoyable.
Containers require so much watering! Phil used to have so many but I have few. Yes, the Mitford sisters represented the entire political spectrum and it seems like some book addressed that. What a household that must have been.
That is very true about containers, Patti. You can easily lose plants if you water too little, and that is less of a problem with plants in the ground. In California we don't get rain in the summer so have to water a lot anyway.
Guy Branum on the Milford family on Jackie Kashian's podcast--more than one book about them...
https://radiopublic.com/the-dork-forest-WYB3zV/s1!b8afe
Jonathan Ames is a name which for some reason rang a dim bell...and then, the other night, I was looking at HBO on-demand and the first "recommended" offer was the ten-year-old series BORED TO DEATH...written by Ames and featuring a protagonist named Jonathan Ames. A bit Guy-Heavy, but mostly interesting and usually funny.
Post a Comment